The Brownie Scouts at Silver Beach

“Watch me dive into that big wave! I’m a fish!”

Vevi McGuire shouted the words as she ran along the sandy beach toward the ocean. In her red bathing suit, the dark-haired, freckled little girl made a bright flash of color against the blue sky.

“Be careful, Vevi!” called Connie Williams. “The tide is coming in, and those waves are strong.”

Now Vevi did not heed the warning of her friend. In fact, she didn’t even hear what Connie had said. That was because she was thinking only of being the first Brownie Scout to get into the water.

Flinging her arms wide, she ran to meet a big saucy wave. Icy cold, it slapped hard at her knees.

Vevi squealed and turned her head to see if the other girls were watching.

“Last one in is a sissy!” she challenged the group of Brownie Scouts. “Who says the water is cold?”

“Watch out!” shouted Connie.

Another big foam-flecked wave came rolling slowly in. Vevi did not turn quickly enough to see it.

Before she could brace herself, a great wall of water washed over her.

Now Vevi was very much surprised, for she had not known that a wave could be so rough. Her feet were swept from beneath her and she fell flat on her knees.

Spluttering and choking, Vevi clawed at the sand. For a second she could not get her breath and was very frightened. She was afraid she might drown.

Then the wave was gone, and Vevi found herself lying in a puddle of salt water. When she scrambled to her feet, her bathing suit was gritty with sand. Her elbow had been skinned too.

“My, if you didn’t look funny when that big wave slapped you!” laughed Connie Williams.

Connie was Vevi’s very best friend, and a leader in the Rosedale Brownie Scout troop. Her blue eyes twinkled, for she always enjoyed a joke.

“It’s not funny,” Vevi protested, rubbing the skinned place on her elbow.

“Look out, or you’ll be knocked flat again,” warned Jane Tuttle, another Brownie Scout. She had long yellow braids which shone in the bright sunlight.

This time, Vevi saw the wave coming and raced to safety. She did not feel nearly so brave now that she knew how hard water could slap.

The five Brownies, Vevi, Connie, Jane, Sunny Davidson and Rosemary Fritche, were spending their very first day on Silver Beach along the Atlantic Coast.

All the girls were looking forward to ten wonderful days as guests of Miss Gordon, the troop leader. Rosemary, Jane and Sunny were staying at the teacher’s vine-covered cottage overlooking Silver Beach. Vevi and Connie bunked at Starfish Cottage rented by Connie’s mother.

Now as Vevi shook sand from her bathing suit, the other girls waded into the water. They were careful though, not to get knocked down by a wave.

Nearby, Connie’s mother, Mrs. Williams, and Miss Gordon sat watching from beneath the shade of a yellow beach umbrella.

“Oh, see what I’ve found!” cried Jane Tuttle suddenly.

She stooped to pick up something from the sand.

“What is it?” demanded Rosemary, running up. Jane showed her an odd-appearing, round, gray object. “It doesn’t look like a shell,” she said, “and it isn’t alive either.”

“Let’s ask Miss Gordon,” proposed Rosemary.

The Brownies ran over to the beach umbrella where the two women were reading magazines.

“Why, Jane, you’ve found a sand dollar!” the Brownie leader exclaimed when she saw the gray-purplish colored disc.

“A sand dollar!” echoed Jane, greatly excited. “Is it real money?”

“Dear me, no,” laughed the teacher. “It is only called by that name because of its shape. Sand dollars really are like sea urchins, having five parts to their shells. They have many hair-like spines or legs, and eat tiny pieces of seaweed.”

“I’m going to find a sand dollar!” announced Vevi. “A dozen of ’em!”

All the Brownies joined in the search. No one, however, could find another sand dollar. Connie picked up a pretty clam shell and Rosemary found one of pure white which Miss Gordon told her was called an angel’s wing.

“I wish the Brownies could gather shells every day we’re here,” Connie declared. “And then maybe have an exhibition of them.”

Miss Gordon nodded approval.

“Perhaps we can, Connie,” she replied. “I thought too that we might study sea life and perhaps learn a little about the birds.”

“And the ocean,” broke in Vevi. “I want to know where it came from and how it got its salt.”

“The story of how the ocean became salty must wait until tomorrow,” Miss Gordon said, smiling. “This afternoon we are to have a swimming lesson. Barney Fulsom, the life guard, has promised to give the Brownies a few pointers.”

“Is that Barney coming now?” asked Connie.

A deeply-tanned, broad-chested young man was walking briskly toward the group of Brownies. The girls knew he was a life guard for he wore a Red Cross emblem on his black bathing trunks.

“That’s Barney,” agreed Miss Gordon. “Now we must all do exactly as he tells us.”